Tuesday morning, gas prices went up as much as 30 cents a gallon in most of Wood and Washington counties.

These are the highest prices we've seen in the Mid-Ohio Valley in more than six months. And motorists from outside the area coming into West Virginia noticed the jump at the pump.

"In Youngstown, we just flipped over to $2.09, and I see $2.29 this way," said motorist Perry Simpson. "So they are definitely higher down here."

But others said the prices rose in their areas as well.

"They haven't dropped a penny," said Louis Shroyer of Dover, Ohio. "Everything's gone up, sky high."

There have been increases since the huge drop in pump prices last fall, but most have been brief spikes which have been followed by decreases. And, perhaps not by coincidence, they're coming right before the start of the summer travel season, which officially kicks off Memorial Day weekend.

"Most definitely, we won't be doing a lot of travelling," said Janet Jacobs of Cadiz, Ohio.

"We definitely won't go on any long trips," Simpson added. "We'll definitely make them shorter, without a doubt."

Analysts, however, continue to say they don't expect an immediate return to last year's four dollar-plus prices.

On the world markets, crude oil prices have gone above the $50 a barrel mark in recent days, although they declined a bit Tuesday.

We usually see these large increases earlier in the spring. But this is the time of year oil companies are making a transition to summer-grade fuels, which involves a decrease in inventory at their refineries.